


a bit of a handful

by mayathewriter



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dog Bait, Dog Pip, Dogs, Gen, Humor, bg raydia/sorcos bc im weak, harrow makes brief appearances bc theyre technically his dogs, i dont think theres anything else?, idk how old they are dont ask, oh idk if u could tell in the story but bait was supposed to be a newfoundland, rated teen bc rayla swears like a bitch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-22 07:57:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17055902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mayathewriter/pseuds/mayathewriter
Summary: Claudia and Soren volunteer to dogsit Pip and Bait for the weekend. Shenanigans ensue.





	a bit of a handful

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Naj @tdpcallums on tumblr!](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Naj+%40tdpcallums+on+tumblr%21).



> Prompt: "modern brodigies walking their dogs ! bonus points if the dogs are big breeds."
> 
> i had a lot of fun writing this!! sorry it took so long to get up, school has been kicking my ass this week

Harrow looked between the two siblings as they nearly vibrated in excitement, handing over the leashes with a little more reproach than he’d had earlier.

“Are you sure you two are up for this?” he asked them, choosing to ignore how they squabbled over the two nearly-identical leashes, the dogs attached to them following happily.. “I can always hire a sitter for the weekend if you two would rather not look after the dogs. They can be a bit of a handful.”

“So can we!” Soren said cheerfully. “They’ll be in good company!”

Harrow was… having regrets. Many of them. But watching them already play with the dogs reminded him of how happy Callum and Ezran were when _they_ saw them for the first time, and, well.

“I’m sure they will be,” he said, shaking his head fondly. “We’ll be back Sunday afternoon. Remember to feed Pip twice a day, but only feed Bait once a day and--”

“We know, Mr. King,” Claudia said waving her hand. “Callum made a very elaborate list of what they need every day when I told him we’d offered to dogsit. You don’t need to worry!”

 _She’s right_ , Harrow told himself as he walked away. _I shouldn’t worry. Besides, what could happen in two days?_

 

“Soren, grab the- no! Pip!”

Claudia watched helplessly as Pip sprinted out of the park, green bandana flapping behind him. Soren followed, shouting.

“Wait!” he called, arms outstretched in front of him as he ran. “Wait, Pip! Come back! Come baaaaa…”

Claudia sighed, watching her brother chase after the runaway dog before looking down at Bait, who was lying on the ground by her feet, fluffy head brushing her ankle. “You’re not going to run away, right?” Bait looked up at her, blinking blue and gold eyes lazily. “I’m going to take that as a yes.”

It didn't take long for Soren to return, sweaty and red as he doubled over near a park bench. “Why,” he panted. “Are dogs so fast?”

“Why are you so slow?”

“Rude!”

Claudia stuck her tongue out at him before tugging Bait to his feet--paws? does this expression even work for dogs?--and put a determined hand on her hip. “We need to find him. It's not like Pip would've left town, we just need to know where he went.” She paused, biting her lip. “He wouldn’t have left town, right?”

Soren frowned, propping his chin up in his hand for a moment before brightening up again and making a break for the park exit again. “Only one way to find out!”

“Wait, Soren--!”

 

“Claudia!” Soren shouted across the plaza, pointing off to the side. “I think I found Pip! It’s furry and has green on it, I think!”

Claudia clambered across some street benches, Bait still following grumpily, following to where Soren was pointing. “I see him! But how do we get him down from there? Actually, how did he even get up there, dogs can’t climb trees!”

“You’re serious?” came a voice from beside them, disbelieving and thickly accented. The two siblings looked down from where they were stood on one said bench, the girl with white hair and purple eyes looking back at them incredulously. “That’s a fucking squirrel? Like, and actual fucking squirrel. I’ve never even _seen_ a grey squirrel until last month but I still know that’s a fucking _squirrel_.”

Soren pouted crossing his arms. “How do you know what our dog looks like? Maybe he’s a squirrel!”

“Yeah!”

Rayla looked between the two of them suspiciously, silently wondering if it was worth even acknowledging that question, because what kind of dog looked like a _squirrel_ . “What kind of dog are you _looking_ for?”

“…Scottish deerhound.”

“You are absolutely fucking _shitting_ me--”

 

“PIP!” Rayla shouted from the other side of the street. Claudia was somewhere around the corner shouting the same thing, echoing over to where Soren was. Soren, who was doing the most important job, obviously.

“Sniff him out, boy!” he said to Bait, who was watching him dance around with disinterest. “Please? Pretty please?”

Bait stared back at him for a moment, before huffing through his nose and trotting off in the opposite direction of the girls, nose to the ground.

“Rayla, Claudia!” he yelled, already following Bait. “I think Bait found something!”

The three of them followed Bait down the street, where he abruptly turned and slipped into the crevice between two buildings, one that Soren could barely fit through. “If only…” he wheezed, lagging behind Claudia and Rayla as they seemed to slip through without an issue. “I weren’t… so muscular…”

He elected to ignore Rayla’s snort from the front of the line, shooting her a dirty look when he finally emerged from the other side of the crevice before looking around for Bait.

“Where'd he go?” Claudia asked, poking her head around the corner of the neighboring building. “Bait!”

A loud, low bark came from down _another_ narrow crevice between the buildings, and Soren could barely make out the blue-and-yellow bandanna that stood out from the shaggy black fur around his neck. Bait trotted out of the crevice, barking at them again before turning back in, the three humans following quickly.

The other side opened up just outside of the town boundaries, a sparse forest opening up behind a figure, another person crouched near--

“Pip!” Claudia cried, rushing forward to hug the dog. The boy who had been with the dog took a few steps back, rubbing the back of his neck with a nervous laugh. “He was making a break for the forest, I think. Managed to grab his leash in time to stop him and calm him down.”

“Thanks, man,” Soren said, smiling at him. “I don’t know what we would’ve done if we hadn’t found him.”

“It was no problem,” he returned, rubbing Bait’s head affectionately. “I like dogs. Where do you think you’re headed next, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Well, we were planning on walking them,” Soren said, looking down at Bait and laughing. “We might still try. Depends on what Claudia wants to do.”

He glanced back at his sister, who was crouched next to Rayla, the two taking turns playing fetch with Pip, ducking their heads to talk to one another without him overhearing.

“I think she intends to stick around a while,” the other boy laughed, ruffling his dark hair before crouching next to Bait. “I’m Marcos, by the way.”

“Soren.”

They shared a small smile, the wind holding still for a moment before--

“Pip! Give that back!”

“The fuckin’ dog stole my--”

“And he’s gone again,” Soren sighed, standing up again. “With Rayla’s bracelet.”

Rayla and Claudia were already gone, disappeared between the buildings to keep Pip in their sights. Soren glanced to the side, where Marcos stayed next to him, offering Bait’s leash to him like an offering. “Would you mind helping again?”

Marcos laughed and took the leash, the three of them following the others down the alley, where Claudia was triumphantly holding Rayla’s bracelet, and Rayla was holding the leash, a small smile on her face.

 

“Much better day for walking today, don’t you think?” Claudia asked, gesturing around with Pip’s leash wrapped around her hand three times, looking almost comical.

“Less wind,” Soren agreed from her left. “Less runaway dogs.”

“Less dogs stealing my bracelet,” Rayla added, glaring at Pip.

Marcos, who was standing on Soren’s other side, pouted. “Was I the only one that had fun yesterday?” He was met with an overwhelming chorus of yeses, which he only sighed in response to. “It’s not like anyone died!”

“I wasn’t far from changing that,” Rayla grumbled, folding her arms.

“Don’t be such a downer, Rayla,” Claudia teased, jabbing an elbow at her brother. “I’m sure Sore-bear wouldn’t mind being a punching bag for you if you still need to let out some steam.”

“No,” Soren sputtered, looking horrified that he would even suggest that. Mostly because he’d seen Rayla beat Marcos in an arm-wrestling contest, and Marcos was ripped. “No I’d rather that I _don’t_ becoming a literal sore-bear, thanks.”

Claudia burst out laughing at that wiping a tear from her eye. “I think that was the funniest thing I’ve heard all week.”

Neither noticed when Rayla and Marcos dropped back, sharing a fond but exasperated look before catching back up with the siblings.

 

“So nothing went wrong?”

Soren and Claudia shared a _look_ , first with each other, then with the two dogs sitting in front of them, looking like the picture of innocence.

“Nope!” Soren said, trying his best to stop the grin threatening to give them away.

“Nothing at all,” Claudia agreed, hiding a smile behind her hand. “They were little angels, both of them. Makes me want to get a dog.”

“No it doesn’t,” Soren said.

“No, it doesn’t,” she agreed.

Harrow laughed, any remaining wariness disappearing off his face. “Alright, I believe you. I’ll have Callum drop the money off at your house, thank you again for watching them.”

“Of course!” Claudia said slipping out of the room before he could ask them any more questions.

 

Outside, Claudia and Soren met up with Rayla and Marcos, each respective couple linking hands.

“So,” Marcos asked. “You think he was onto you?”

“He didn’t have a clue.”

 

Inside his office, Harrow looked down at the two dogs, shaking his head with a laugh. “Which one of you did it this time? They _both_ looked nervous.”

Pip barked again.


End file.
